BOULDER — Colorado’s wide receiver position was going to be young even before standout junior Paul Richardson tore an ACL in his left knee on April 10 during spring drills and underwent reconstructive surgery.

Richardson, evidently a quick healer, plans to be back this season. But nobody knows when.

In the meantime, sophomores Keenan Canty and Tyler McCulloch rank among the most experienced wideouts. Canty (5-foot-9 and 160 pounds) caught 14 passes in 2011 as a redshirt freshman. McCulloch (6-5, 210)caught 10 passes last fall as a true freshman.

Two young players that can help immediately are redshirt-freshman Nelson Spruce (6-2, 195) and true freshman Gerald Thomas (5-11, 175).

Of Spruce, CU coach Jon Embree said: “”I’ve really tried to focus Nelson, as has coach Kennedy (wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy), on a lot of little things that can help him become a very productive player for us. He very rarely drops the ball, so that’s the first thing you want from your receivers. He run good routes, and he’s faster than what you’d think. Right now we’re working on different ways with him to create space (from a defender), because he’s a guy we can lean on.”

On Thomas: “The second you put on (full pads), guys get slower and may go down. One guy that I know isn’t like that is Gerald Thomas,” Embree said. “He made one guy miss him twice, on the same play. It was funny. He has it. He had a nice touchdown in a situational scrimmage. When he turns up the field he explodes. He just goes.”

I am so sick of this BS. The buffs were picked LAST in the p12 by every publication. How about some real reporting?

Tom Kensler

mcd, Reporters can’t watch practices because they are closed to the public, including the media. We’re depending on comments/observations from coaches and players, and, granted, they are not likely to be overly critical — especially during August camp, which is like baseball’s spring practice, when optimism is high.

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.